Struggling Ana Ivanovic loses to Marion Bartoli in Indian Wells quarterfinals

9
Wilson Blade 9

The quarterfinal encounter of 2008 Indian Wells champion Ana Ivanovic and Marion Bartoli featured 13 breaks of serve in two sets that together lasted more than two hours. The 19th-seeded Ivanovic was desperately fighting, while for the most part of the match seed No.15 Bartoli had a small but valuable advantage. Something was constantly missing in Ivanovic’s game and Bartoli moved into the semifinals of the high-profile BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4 7-6(4) victory.

In a slow set full of breaks, at 5-4 Bartoli was serving to win it, and even though Ivanovic earned two break opportunities to level the score, Bartoli prevailed. The second set also started better for Bartoli, but Ivanovic was constantly fighting, leveling, and even led 5-4 for a short time. Bartoli was later serving for the match at 6-5, and even though Ivanovic forced a tiebreak, her troubles were cut short in that set and Bartoli made her way into the semifinals.

It will be Bartoli’s third semifinal of the season, after Brisbane and Doha. A semifinalist in Indian Wells earns $150,000. The 17th-ranked Frenchwoman will play either Shahar Peer or Yanina Wickmayer for a place in the title match.

9 COMMENTS

  1. Ana won herself. After victory over top ten player she had high expectations, she couldn’t relax and played bad. She fought with herself till the end but she couldn’t win. Congratulations to Marion. She was patient girl, fight and she is in semi-final.

  2. Soko, true, the entire match Ana was fighting herself. She had problems in her head and was unable to overcome them.

  3. Hi Marija, I was a bit lacking in these days, I thought I had more free time, but this period was more chaotic than I expected 😛

    Yesterday I watched the match between Ana and Marion, was a tough match, but not very nice to watch… I agree with you, Ana was fighting herself and Marion had always a small advantage, congratulation to her.

  4. I totally agree with you, Ana beat herself in that match. Bartoli did not do anything special out there, she capitalised on Ana’s unforced errors.

  5. Ana lost but paying great at certain points. Bartoli tactics were to force Ana to make mistakes and she certainly did. Ana was playing too cautious against Bartoli. Ana need more concentration on every point. She is very talented but fragile in her emotion. Quarter final is not a bad either. It was a good progress. I think when she is becoming more consistent, it’s gonna be bad news to others. Good luck Ana.

  6. Hi Francesca! 😉

    Ana had a mental bug in her head, and although she was aware of it, she couldn’t catch it. That’s my attempt to metaphorically explain the situation. 😛

  7. I totally agree with all of you guys. Wish Ana good luck in Miami and upcoming tournaments and good health to all the players (Kim is on my mind). Indian Wells is one of my favorite tournaments and Ana had a good run there 🙂

  8. 🙁 (for the match VS Bartoli)and 😀 (for the fifth round at Indian Wells). I hope that she will continue to work hard (looking at her body/muscles it seems that she worked hard).

  9. Haha! It’s no secret I don’t like Ana sooo much. Otherwise I have to say she played a great tournament and have to be pleased for coming in the quarter-finals.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here